A lot happened that affected the Colorado State football program over the weekend … and the Rams didn’t even play.
When word broke Sunday that Will Muschamp was out as Florida’s coach, the dart-throwing about Muschamp’s successor took on a new urgency.
Some of the darts had Jim McElwain’s name on them.
The Colorado State coach has been mentioned as a possible Muschamp successor for many weeks, which I acknowledged a month ago.
To update:
• Under his new replacement five-year deal, McElwain is under contract through the 2018 season with one-year rollovers that can be triggered by either side. He is paid $1.5 million this season and is scheduled for annual raises. His initial buyout is $7.5 million. Just about everything, including his salary, can jump under various clauses and incentives.
• McElwain is not leaving for a bad program in a power conference, for several reasons. If after this season a power- conference program such as Florida thinks it’s worth the enormous expense of landing him, CSU should hug him on the way out the door. In late 2010, Colorado ruled him out because of the mandate from above to hire “a Buff”; it’s clear now that was a grievous mistake.
• Should McElwain leave, the Rams could keep momentum by: a) elevating Dave Baldwin, Marty English, Al Simmons or Tim Skipper; b) bringing in an upwardly mobile assistant, such as Scott Frost or Matt Lubick (best of both worlds) from Oregon; or, c) landing an even bigger name interested in taking up where McElwain left off.
• A complication would be the impending widening of the gap between the power and nonpower conferences because of the new “autonomy” rules on the horizon. Plus, there’s the uncertainty over how far CSU would have to go to at least remain on the same plane with Boise State, for example, which has announced its intention to follow the lead of the power-conference rules as much as possible. At CSU, regardless of what happens with the on-campus stadium project — and I think it’s a virtual lock that it will go forward — the changing landscape in the two FBS tiers is the biggest red flag for any new coach.
It’s far from certain that Florida would go after or spend the money to land another former Nick Saban assistant after the ouster of Muschamp, who worked under Saban at LSU and with the Miami Dolphins. But many of the issues that come into play in talking about the Florida opening would be there for any other school, whether Michigan or anyone else, considering a run at McElwain.
Keep in mind too that with headhunters and agents involved in most coaching searches, schools and coaches don’t even have to talk directly until the last minute, ensuring plausible deniability through much of the process.
Meanwhile …
At 9-1, CSU on Sunday moved up from 23rd to 22nd in The Associated Press media poll and from 25th to 23rd in the USA Today coaches poll. Although the College Football Playoff selection committee has shown even more preference for power- conference teams, it seems possible that Marshall (18th in both Sunday polls) and/or CSU might crack the CFP top 25 this week. The CFP’s top-rated, nonpower-conference champion will get a major, or “access,” bowl berth.
CSU still could be 11-1 and not make it to the Mountain West championship game, because Boise State managed to come back from a 20-0 deficit to beat San Diego State on Saturday night. If the Broncos beat Wyoming and Utah State in their last two games, they are the Mountain Division champions because of their 37-24 win over CSU, which gives them the tiebreaker.
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or
Eye on …The Lobos
New Mexico at Colorado State, 11:30 a.m. Saturday, ROOT
For the record: The Lobos are 3-7 overall and 1-5 in the Mountain West after a 28-21 loss at Utah State.
Streaking: CSU has won four in a row in the series, including a 66-42 romp last season when Kapri Bibbs ran for 291 yards.
Who’s hot: Freshman running back Romell Jordan rushed for 96 yards on only nine carries against Utah State’s rugged defense.
Who’s not: Freshman quarterback Lamar Jordan was 8-of-18 passing for 154 yards in the loss to the Aggies.
Key stat: Scoring is not a problem for most teams against New Mexico. The Lobos have allowed an average of 34.3 points and 498.4 total yards per game.
FYI: Like Jim McElwain at CSU, New Mexico coach Bob Davie is in his third season on the job. Davie is a former Notre Dame coach.
Terry Frei, Denver Post
